For the first of hopefully many vegan recipe posts i'd like to share with you this juicy cake I baked after picking up a hug carrier bag of fresh beets (for £1!) at the veg stall Sunday just gone.
I have always been a fan of free-styling a baking recipe. Actually the same could be said for cooking in general. It usually starts with me finding a lovely recipe online but not having all the right ingredients...
Having become vegan about 6 months ago now I am also still getting to grips with replacing eggs or dairy in my baking and have struggled up until I found a blog that recommended using ripe bananas instead- genius! Unless you hate bananas.
You will need:
1 medium fresh beetroot peeled & grated
100g brown caster sugar
2/3 ripe bananas
150g vegan margarine style spread
250g self raising flour
3tsp (heaped) cocoa or cacao powder
For the 'cream cheese icing'
1 tub Tofutti original
5/6 tblsp icing sugar
Preheat your oven at 170oC. Put marg' bananas and sugar into a big bowl and mix together with a stick blender until fully combined. The mixture may look a little curdley but that just seems to be the way it goes so don't worry. Next sieve together the flour and cocoa a little at a time mixing in well at intervals. Lastly fold in grated beetroot! spoon out half and half into two medium round sandwich tins and bake for 20/30 mins or until no traces are left on a knife when stabbing the sponge.
Whilst these are cooking make the filling/icing...
Place the whole tub of Tofutti into a small ish bowl with the icing sugar and mix well! Cover and keep at room temperature until the cake is cooled and ready to be finished.
Once your cakes are cooled spread the filling mixture generously onto one half of the cake and place the other on top.
A perfect afternoon cake! Or if you are like me also good for a late breakfast...
